Baptism Word Study done in August-September 2026.

Questions:

  1. What is the biblical purpose of baptism?
  2. Who should be baptized?
  3. Is there evidence of infant baptism in scripture?
  4. Is there evidence of non-immersion baptism in scripture?
  5. Is there a connection between circumcision and baptism in scripture?
  6. Are there biblically different types of baptisms?
  7. Is it wrong to be physically baptized more than once?
  8. Is there evidence of baptism being required for justification (salvation)?

Greek word: baptizō – βαπτίζω – Verb

  • Count: 80
    -Baptize – 76 times
    -Wash – 2 times
    -Baptist – 1
    -Baptized – 1
  • Definition: to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge; to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one’s self, bathe.
  • Usage:
    • Mat 3:6 – John B baptizing people after they confess sins in the Jordan River
    • Mat 3:11(2x) – John B baptizing with water for repentance but the one to come will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire
    • Mat 3:13 – Jesus came to be baptized by John B
    • Mat 3:14 – John B says Jesus needs to be the one to baptize him
    • Mat 3:16 – Jesus is baptized by immersion in the Jordan River by John B
    • Mat 28:19 – Great Commission – make disciples of all nations and baptize
    • Mar 1:4 – John B baptizing & preaching baptism of repentance
    • Mar 1:5 – John B baptizing people after they confess their sins in the Jordan River 
    • Mar 1:8 (2x) – John B baptizes with water but Christ will baptize with the HS
    • Mar 1:9 – Jesus baptized by John B in the Jordan River
    • Mar 6:14 – John the Baptist’s name
    • Mar 6:24 – John the Baptist’s name
    • Mar 7:4 – Speaking of washing
    • Mar 10:38 (2x) – Jesus figuratively using baptism to refer to the cup of God’s wrath and his death being baptized in it as payment
    • Mar 10:39 – Jesus figuratively using baptism to refer to the sons of Zebedee being martyred like Him
    • Mar 16:16 – whoever believes and is baptized
    • Luk 3:7 – John B baptizing people in the Jordan River
    • Luk 3:12 – John B baptizing tax collectors in the Jordan River
    • Luk 3:16 (2x) – John B baptizes with water but Christ will baptize with the HS and fire
    • Luk 3:21 (2x) – Jesus baptized by John B in the Jordan River
    • Luk 7:29 – People who were baptized by John B acknowledge God’s way
    • Luk 7:30 – Pharisees and law experts were noy baptized by John B
    • Luk 11:38 – speaking of washing 
    • Luk 12:50 – Jesus figuratively using baptism to refer to his death
    • Joh 1:25 – Pharisees question John B’s baptisms
    • Joh 1:26 – John B says he baptizes with water
    • Joh 1:28 – Speaking of John B baptizing in the Jordan River
    • Joh 1:31 – John B says he baptizes with water so that Jesus will be revealed to Israel
    • Joh 1:33 (2x) – John B says he baptized the one who will baptize with the HS
    • Joh 3:22 – Jesus & his disciples baptizing
    • Joh 3:23 (2x) – John B was baptizing simultaneously with Jesus & the disciples
    • Joh 3:26 – People tell John B that Jesus is baptizing
    • Joh 4:1 -Pharisees hear that Jesus was baptizing
    • Joh 4:2 – It was not Jesus, but his disciples who were actually baptizing
    • John 10:40  – Speaks of the location where John B was baptizing
    • Act 1:5 (2x) – Jesus says John B baptized with water but He baptizes with HS
    • Act 2:38 – Day of Pentecost – Peter says Jews he preached to need to be baptized and repent so they can receive the HS
    • Act 2:41 – 3,000 people were saved and baptized
    • Act 8:12 – Samaritans believed when Phillip preached then they got baptized
    • Act 8:13 – Simon the Magician believed and was baptized
    • Act 8:16 – The Samaritans who believed and were baptized did not receive the HS until after the disciples prayed and laid hands on them
    • Act 8:36 – Ethiopian eunuch believed and was baptized
    • Act 8:38 – Ethiopian eunuch believed and was baptized
    • Act 9:18 – Saul/Paul is baptized after he believes
    • Act 10:47 – Gentiles believed after Paul preached and were baptized
    • Act 10:48 – Gentiles believed after Paul preached and were baptized
    • Act 11:16 (2x) – John B baptized with water but you will be baptized by the HS
    • Act 16:15 – Lydia believed and she and her whole household were baptized
    • Act 16:33 – Philippian jailer and his household were baptized after hearing the gospel and believing
    • Act 18:8 – Crispus, his household, and many Corinthians believed and were then baptized
    • Act 19:3 – Paul asks people “into what were you baptized?” They answer “John’s Baptism”
    • Act 19:4 – Paul says John B’s baptism was of repentance, telling people to believe in Him who came after him
    • Act 19:5 – People were baptized in the name of Jesus and then received the HS
    • Act 22:16 – Paul telling about his baptism
    • Rom 6:3 (2x)  – all who were baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death
    • 1Co 1:13 – Paul tells them they weren’t baptized into him but into Christ
    • 1Co 1:14 – Paul says he only baptized Crispus & Gaius in Corinth
    • 1Co 1:15 – Paul says nobody was baptized in his name 
    • 1Co 1:16 (2x) – Paul says he also baptized the household of Stephanas
    • 1Co 1:17 – Christ didn’t send Paul to baptize but to share the gospel
    • 1Co 10:2 – Paul says the Israelites out of Egypt were baptized into Moses in the cloud and the sea
    • 1Co 12:13 – By one spirit they were baptized into one body
    • 1Co 15:29 – Discussing the rejection of the resurrection Paul mentions the pagan practice of baptizing the dead
    • Gal 3:27 – All who were baptized into Christ clothe themselves with Christ

Greek word: baptisma – βάπτισμα – Noun

  • Count: 22
    -Baptism – 22 times
  • Definition: immersion, submersion 
  • Usage:
    • Mat 3:7 – Pharisees & Sadducees coming to where John B was baptizing
    • Mat 21:25 – Jesus speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Mar 1:4 – John B baptizing a baptism of repentance
    • Mar 10:38 – Jesus figuratively  using baptism to refer to his death
    • Mar 10:39 – Jesus figuratively using baptism to refer to the sons of Zebedee being martyred like Him
    • Mar 11:30 – Jesus speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Luk 3:3 – John B teaching a baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins
    • Luk 7:29 – People who were baptized by John B acknowledged God’s way
    • Luk 12:50 – Jesus figuratively  using baptism to refer to his death
    • Luk 20:4 – Jesus speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Act 1:22 – Peter speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Act 10:37 – Peter speaking of John B’s baptisms 
    • Act 13:24 – Paul speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Act 18:25 – Apollos was only acquainted with John B’s baptism
    • Act 19:3  -Paul speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Act 19:4 – Paul speaking of John B’s baptisms
    • Rom 6:4 – we are buried with Christ through baptism into death
    • Eph 4:5 – “One baptism” speaking on unity among believers and no divisiveness 
    • 1 Pe 3:21  -Noah’s family was physically delivered through the water, likewise, baptism now delivers us through the resurrection of Christ

Greek word: baptismos – βαπτισμός – Noun

  • Count: 4
    -Washing – 3 times
    -Baptism – 1 time
  • Definition: a washing, purification effected by means of water; of washing prescribed by the Mosaic law
  • Usage:
    • Mar 7:4 – Speaking of washing cups and dishes
    • Col 2:12 – We were buried with Christ in baptism
    • Heb 6:2 – Instructions about washing
    • Heb 9:10 – Speaking of types of washing 

Nick’s Notes

  • In Matt 3:11 John B is said to baptize with water, but when Christ comes, He will baptize by the Holy Spirit
    • This shows up many times and indicates a difference between John B’s baptism and Christ’s.
    • John B’s seems to be one of preparation for the coming Christ and is about changing one’s ways of thinking so they will be ready to accept Christ
  • In Acts 19, people who are previously baptized by John were rebaptized in the name of Christ.
  • Jesus refers to His death as a baptism several times
    • Maybe a washing/immersion of the sins of the world or God’s wrath towards sin?
  • In John 1:31 John B says his baptisms are done for the reason of revealing Christ to Israel
  • The Day of Pentecost is the first instance of the Holy Spirit coming into people after they believe and are baptized
  • Four times it speaks of households getting baptized
    • 1. Acts 16:15 – Lydia believed and then she and her household are baptized
    • 2. Acts 16:30-33 – Paul and Silas tell the Philippian jailer that to be saved, he must believe in Christ, he and his household.
      • It then says that Paul and Silas preached to his house and they were all baptized
      • The inclusion of “you and your household” in reference to being saved seems to indicate that salvation had the same method for him and his family (it was the same for everyone) and they all believed after hearing the preaching and then were baptized.
    • 3. 1 Cor 1:16 – Paul says he baptized the household of Stephanas
      • No written indication is given about whether they believed or not
    • 4. Acts 18:8 – Crispus, leader of the Synagogue, along with all his household and many Corinthians believed after hearing Paul speak, then all were baptized
      • Here it clearly says that everyone in his house and the others believed before they were baptized
  • There are 3 Greek words for baptism approximately 106 times total in the New Testament. 5 of the 106 times the words are used to describe washing, whether ceremonially or normal cleaning. The Greek word use the most (3 of the 5 times) to reference washing is baptismos.
  • In reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, it seems as though there was a brief time between the Day of Pentecost and Acts 19 where the Holy Spirit came separately from belief. But After Acts 19 that no longer seems to be the case. Everyone from then on is baptized by the Holy Spirit when they believe in Christ.
  • From what little outside sources and commentaries Ive read in this study, it seems as though denominations that are more tradition-heavy tend to put a lot of emphasis on viewing this topic (and others) through the lens of the Old Testament (Mosaic & Abrahamic Covenants) traditions and rituals. They seem to tend to extend parts of those old systems into the new teachings for non Jews. This is problematic because the New Covenant is vastly different than the old ones. The old ones were made with people groups (namely Israel) and were not salvific in nature. They focused strongly on a corporate grouping (nation), laws, rituals, and were bilateral (obligations, responsibilities, and conditions for both parties). While the New Covenant does have a corporate aspect (the body of Christ/Church) it is primarily about an individual relationship with God. It is salvific in nature, is unilateral (one party takes responsibility for fulfilling the covenant), and grace-focused rather than rule-focused. Someone could be under the Old Covenant without any understanding of it, simply by nature of what family or people group they were born into. The only people who are under the New Covenant are people who enter into it by faith in Christ. Another major difference between the two, a difference that many Jewish converts in the first century struggled with, is that it wasn’t focused primarily on the Jews, it was open to all people. This means it doesn’t hold onto the Jewish covenant rituals and markers like the Old Covenant did. All of that being said, there can be serious logical and theological flaws in when trying to read the new teachings of Christ through the old covenantal structure. I would not consider this to be a good hermeneutic, as it can lead to eisegesis rather than exegesis. 
  • What is the Biblical purpose of baptism? 
    • To answer the question of what the purpose of being baptized is, it depends on which Baptism is being talked about:
      • John’s Baptism: The purpose is to prepare the Jews and get them in the right mindset for the coming of the messiah
      • Post-belief baptism: Paul says in Romans 6 that baptism into Christ symbolizes us dying with Him, buried with Him, and being raised to new life with Him. An outward action symbolizing an inward change of our being
      • Jesus’ Baptism of the HS:
        • To give us teaching, conviction, judgment guidance, truth, discernment: John 16:7-15
        • To Give us the guarantee of our inheritance: Eph 1:14
        • To give us a helper: John 14:26 says the HS will help teach us and remind us of what Christ taught
        • To give us power: Acts 1:8
        • Unity: 1 Cor. 12:13 says we are “baptized by one spirit  so as to form one body”  
  • Who should be baptized?
    • To answer the question of who should be baptized, it seems as though the point in time would cause this to have different answers:
      • 1. During John the Baptist’s ministry: people who repented (changed their minds) and want to align and prepare themselves for the messiah’s coming
      • 2. During Jesus’ ministry: people who believe in his teaching and believe that he is the messiah.
      • 3. From Jesus’ ascension – modern times: people who believe in Christ as their savior   
  • Is there evidence of infant baptism in scripture?
    • To answer the question of infant baptism, as some Christian traditions hold to, I do not see any indications of infants being baptized in the New Testament. All that seem to be baptized are adults, or at least people capable to making a decision to choose to get baptized.
      • The only caveat to this would be the two instances where it says a “household” was baptized and no indication is given whether all in the house believed or not. An inference from silence could be made here that there could be infants or young children in the house, but this is not specified or explained in scripture, and therefore it would be unwise to base any firm beliefs or doctrines on this.  
  • Is there evidence of non-immersion baptism in scripture?
    • To answer the question of non-immersion baptism in scripture, there does not seem to be any. The definition of baptism is plainly “to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge; to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash”. All descriptions of baptism in the NT are of immersion into water.
      • In all other non-biblical uses of the Greek words it literally meant “to dip, plunge, submerge, sink, or overwhelm”. The word was used in secular ancient writings to describe ships sinking into the ocean, people drowning, dying textiles by dipping fabric into colored dye, and pickling vegetables. 
      • 5 of the 106 times the Greek words that are normally used for baptism are translated as “washing” or “wash” describing wither ceremonially or normal cleaning. The Greek word use the most (3 of the 5 times) to reference washing is baptismos.
      • There are no references in the NT to baptism being described as sprinkling, as that is a different word entirely. The NT, when speaking of OT rituals of sprinkling uses the word rhantizō, which is defined as “to sprinkle, to cleanse by sprinkling, hence to purify, cleanse”. Given that the NT does use this word in reference to OT rituals, it would stand to reason that if any of the verses about Christian baptism were meant to include or be understood as “sprinkled”, then the Holy Spirit would have instructed the NT writers to use that specific word, rather than a word that meant something else. 
  • Is there a connection between circumcision and baptism in scripture?
    • To answer the question of a connection between circumcision and baptism, there is no passage that clearly says they are connected or that baptism is the new version of circumcision. Scripture speaks of physical circumcision in the OT and in the NT it equates faith in Christ as the new “circumcision of the heart” that is “not performed by human hands”. The sign of the old covenant was physical circumcision, and it predicts the new one will be a circumcision of the heart (Deut 30). That is the only circumcision equivalence I know of in the NT, a further study of circumcision might uncover more.
      • There is one passage in Colossians 2 that mentions both circumcision and baptism. Its says that believers were circumcised with a circumcision not performed with human hands, and that our whole self, which was ruled by the flesh, was put off when this new circumcision by Christ occurs. It goes on to say that believers were also buried with Christ in baptism, which we were also raised with Him through faith.
        • Both the circumcision and the baptism mentioned here are spiritual and not physical.
        • The baptism that is mentioned is said to have happened through faith, thus further solidifying the point that the baptism in question is not a physical one. The only non-physical “baptisms” mentioned in the NT are the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and when Christ figuratively refers to his death as a baptism. 
        • The passage does not seem to show an equivalence  between baptism and circumcision, but presents them as two distinct things that happen spiritually to a new believer. 
        • For further reading. this article does a good job of dissecting this verse.
  • Are there biblically different types of baptisms?
    • To answer the question of different types of Baptisms in Scripture, there are several:
      • John the Baptist’s baptisms are mentioned approximately 40 times
      • Jesus’ Baptism by the HS on others is mentioned approximately 5 times
      • Post-belief baptisms (often in mass numbers) are mentioned approximately 13 times
      • Jesus equates His death with baptism approximately 6 times
      • Household baptisms are mentioned 4 times but each is different:
        • Household baptisms when everyone in the house is said to have believed: 2 times
        • Household baptisms where only one person is said to have believed: 1 time
        • Household baptisms where there is no mention of belief: 1 time
          • On the two occasions of household baptisms where not everyone is specifically mentioned as being saved, it could be inferred that because all the other instances of this type of baptism are preceded by belief and there being no other mentions of non-believers being baptized, then they too were preceded by belief and the writer presupposes readers would know this. Because the text does not specifically say they believed, this view is based on deduction, inference, and cross references.
          • The only other alternative to this is that these 2 instances are unique and non-believing members of the household are given a unique type of baptism, but no details in scripture give any indication of this.

  • Is it wrong to be physically baptized more than once?
    • To answer the question of being physically baptized more than once, the only time I see that happening in scripture is in Acts 19 where people who were previously baptized by John were rebaptized in the name of Christ. Those baptisms were different types and for different reasons. I think that sets a precedent for modern times if someone was baptized for different reason (infant baptism as a commitment to raise a child) or baptized for the wrong reasons (baptized in order to be saved, baptized in a different religion, baptized under pressure, baptized in to fit in with others) then this could be allowed when someone comes to faith in Christ and comes to understand what scripture says about baptism.
      • Ephesians 4:3-6 is sometimes used to say that a person can only be baptized once. While the text does mention the phrase “one baptism”, it is not a prohibition of more than one physical baptism. The focus of that passage is unity of believers in Christ, showing the fundamental things that all believers have in common, “one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father”. The “one baptism” in this context is referring to a one time initiation into Christ. The baptism that best fits into this context is that of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the name of Christ that happens the moment someone believes. A person cannot be baptized repeatedly into Christ (baptism of the HS), as the baptism of the HS is an initiatory event. Regardless of how many times someone is physically baptized, they are only baptized by the HS one time. Furthermore, if this passage were a prohibition of multiple physical baptisms, this would contradict all the people who were previously baptized under John B’s baptism and then were rebaptized in the name of Christ after coming to faith in Christ. 

  • Is there evidence of baptism being required for justification (salvation)?
    • To answer the question of people being justified (saved) by baptism, there does not seem to be any indication of this being taught. The apostle Paul, on his missionary journey even said that Christ did not send him to baptize, but to share the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17). If baptism was what justified someone, then Paul was useless at bringing people to faith. There are some verses, when read out of context, might appear to say this, but when looked at in their proper context and compared to all the other verses regarding justification and baptism, it makes it clear that that baptism does not justify (save) anyone. There are over 100 verses in the NT that clearly teach that justification (salvation) is only though faith in Christ. So any interpretation that goes against clearly defined and repeated teachings found elsewhere in scripture, is a faulty interpretation. The only way for those passages to be seen as teaching baptism is required for justification is to (a) take them out of context, (b) ignore all other teachings on justification, (c) redefine words to fit a specific theological framework, (d) believe that the Bible contradicts itself and is fallible and not reliable, or (e) all of the above.  

Conclusion

  • Upon studying this topic I realized that immersion baptism has a different importance than I originally assumed it had. I now have come to realize that the physical act of baptism is not as big of a deal as many mainline Christian denominations make it out to be. Many view it as important enough to be the determining factor in salvation, scripture does not teach this. Many teach that physical baptism is required in order to be an “official member” of a local assembly, that is also not taught in scripture. Many also teach that physical baptism must be done immediately following coming to faith, this is not commanded in scripture (although baptism often does immediately follow faith). While physical baptism IS commanded in scripture, IS an important part of the Christian journey, and seems to be the most logical next step after believing, I feel like it is sometimes taken too far in its application in aspects of the church. From this study, it seems as though the most important type of baptism is the baptism that Christ brings with the Holy Spirit when someone believes. That is the baptism that should be emphasized more and used as a membership requirement.